揚げおかき（あげおかき）
Age Okaki / Deep-Fried Rice Cracker

... also called 揚げ餅（あげもち） (Age Mochi), which is made by deep-frying dried 餅（もち） (Mochi /Rice cake). The dry climate in Midwest U.S. including Champaign-Urbana suits well to desiccate the Mochi. It is a nice snack for a party because it seems to be popular for everyone from every country. This recipe introduces the directions to make from Mochi-ko (Sweet Rice Flour). Commercial products of vacuum-packed Mochi is also available. (Cooking Time: about 30 minutes except time of drying Mochi)

Directions

1. Spread potato starch powder on a cutting board or a large tray.
2. Put Mochi-ko into a glass/ceramics bowl (glass is more convenient to observe inside) and gradually mix water.
3. Cover the bowl with a lid or a plastic film and heat in microwave oven for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Open the lid and mix the inside well. Repeat this process until the inside becomes translucent and sticky (about 2 or 3 times, depending on the power of the microwave oven). Keep heating about 30 seconds after the inside rise up, and then turn off. This is Mochi.
4. Pour the Mochi dough on the potato starch layer in the direction #1, and spread the powder again on the topside of the dough. Roll it until the thickness reaches around 1/2 inches. Cover it with a plastic film and leave it overnight.
5. Brush the extra potato starch off from the hardened dough, and cut it into small pieces. Put them on a tray and dry at an airy place for 1 or 2 weeks. Drying under sunlight is good. If the humidity is high, move the tray into refrigerator. The drying is completed when the dough pieces have cracks and are easily broken by your hands.
6. Pour oil with 1/2 inches in depth into a frying pan and heat at around 325 F-degrees (about 160 C-degrees). Fry some pieces of the dried dough in the oil layer. When they swell and turn to golden brown, move them onto a paper towel to remove extra oil.
7. Flavor the Okaki crackers with seasonings and serve.

Notes & Arrangements

• If you use commercial products of vacuum-packed Mochi, please follow the directions from #5 to #7.
• If desiccating Mochi is incomplete, the Okaki crackers may not be crisp because the center of them is hard even after deep-frying.
• It is also tasty to add sesami seed, peanut, dried shrimp, sagebrush green, laver seaweed, curry powder and so on in the direction #1.
• You can substitute baking or roasting for deep-frying in the direction #6. In the case of baking, heat a conventional oven at 400 F-degrees (about 200 C-degrees) and bake the dried Mochi pieces for 5 or 8 minutes until they burn to golden brown. In the case of roasting, heat a frying pan at high heating range and roast the pieces for about 5 minutes as like popcorn. Or, put them into a large envelope and heat in a microwave oven for 2 or 3 minutes.
• The dried Mochi in the direction #5 can be preserve in a sealed container at cool temparature.
• The dough in the direction #3 is what is called ordinary Mochi. The pieces of the dough in round or square shape can be used as a ingredient of 雑煮（ぞうに） (Zou-ni / New Year soup), 汁粉（しるこ） (Shiruko / Sweet bean soup) and so on. They can be also kept in freezer.